What could cause an entire planet of humans to become aphasic?

I'm working on a story in which there is some sort of planetary erosion of language. Humans lose the ability to communicate verbally (orally and written). They can remember having language, can even remember names for things and people, but they have no way of expressing them outside of themselves. They can still hear and make sounds/talk, but to anyone but themselves it is gibberish - even those who once spoke the same language.

I've been trying to think of a global event that could essentially rewire human brains this way. Some kind of exotic particle? Or perhaps a form of gravity that we haven't encountered yet? (e.g. dark energy is described as fluidlike; maybe it has some kind of effect on the brain?)

One person can actually remember how language worked, and learns to harness the new particle to bring about a new, telepathic way of communicating that skirts the neurological rewiring. [I'm only adding this 'exception' human because I'm not sure how to write a story with characters who can't speak.]

Thank you!

posted almost 6 years ago

Sarah Fitzsimmons‭

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